KCMT: 40 Kilowatts, Solid-State

KCMT may be Caliente – hot! – but not because of any tubes. There are none in its new transmitter. The FM station in Tucson, Ariz., is on the air with a Nautel Q40. The supplier says the Class C Arizona Lotus station, airing a new Hispanic format with a 100 kW signal, is the first in the United States to broadcast with 40 kW solid-state transmitter power from a dual power block Nautel model Q40. Nautel said it is planning a celebration for station staff this Friday, “complete with a piñata made to look like a transmitter tube,” at the studios in Tucson. “Inside the piñata are four transistors that qualify recipients for 10 pounds of lobster each, courtesy of Nautel.” “The transmitter uses just one hybrid combiner to add two single-ended 20kW power blocks,” the company said of its product. KCMT(FM) went on the air Jan 6 with the 40 kW transmitter.